wow, i’m wrapped with the response from the before and after, thanks guys! And a BIG thank you to Grace for posting it. I love how the story looks on her blog (well, I love everything on her blog!), it really shines – but poor French Boy, he is a little embarrassed… I did warn him to close his eyes!
There were quite a few questions in the comments on design*sponge so I am going to try to answer them all here. I have linked to each commenter so you can easily find the answer to your question within this post. I love questions about my work, so don’t hesitate to ask more in the comments if you have them.
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Q:AMM asked ‘ how did you make the day bed?’
A:That was a bit of a story in itself AMM! But in brief, I found two thrown away pallettes, asked nicely if French Boy could help me lug them up 4 flights of winding stairs, then I painted them white and attached 6 sturdy castor wheels which holds it together perfectly – we have had guests stay on it and all say it is the most comfortable bed ever! I did splash out on the mattress though – it is Japanese and is made from organic cotton and wool. I added some sheepskin rugs underneath the mattress so that legs don’t scratch against any rough bits of wood – if you were more thorough than me, you could sand all the rough bits… i’ll get around to that.
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Q:Orange Pattern, T in LA and Katie were intrigued to know what the writing was on the guitar room windows.
A: It’s a little prose I wrote about meeting French boy, and I was in the process of making it into song lyrics. There is one problem with that – I’m not a singer! So the ‘lyrics’ just stay written on paper and in this case, on windows. I often have sayings that I like to be reminded of too so I used to write them on the windows as well, as inspiration. Make sure you use an erasable marker though – if you are unsure if it is erasable try a tiny corner of a window and it will wipe off very easy with a cloth.
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Q: T in LA asked where did I get the heart shape above the bed…
A: I made it – I used a net of white corded fairy lights that I bought at Habitat and pinned it to the wall in the shape of a loose heart shape. Then I tied on small pieces of ribbon to give it a day time look when it is not lit up. It is pretty cool to lie underneath it – very romantic and really reminds me of the Eiffel Tower lights.
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Q: Willi, Jennifer and Debbie asked about the wallpaper and the pine light shade in the kitchen…
A: both are from Habitat in Paris – I’m not sure if there is a supplier in the United States – if anyone knows, please let us know.
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Q: Joyce and Allison asked about the bedskirt…
A: I made mine from Florence Broadhurst fabric which I brought with me from Sydney (there are suppliers all over the world and the best way to find them is to ask Signature Prints). It is a simple valance, if you want one similar you can have one made by your local tailor/seamstress (if you are not a sewer yourself of course!).
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Thanks again everyone! If I’ve missed any questions please let me know. All the ideas are written in this month’s issue of Home Beautiful. If you can’t get hold of the magazine where you are, click here to see the article spread.
For all my regular readers, we will be heading back to Amsterdam in the next post! You may be as exhausted as me with all this travelling, so we are going to take a little relaxing trip, then there will be many more treats and special surprises to come. xx
Brilliant! I was going to ask where you got your bedroom fairy lights from, but you have answered that question for me above! And I even have a Habitat close to where I live – I think a trip there is now required!
May 9th, 2008 | #
Beautiful! Thank you for letting us in our your ideas!
May 9th, 2008 | #
I meant in your ideas, sorry for the typo!
May 9th, 2008 | #
Thanks for the extra info. I really like the way you changed everything.
Funny enough, we use a dry erase marker on the mirror in the bathroom to leave funny little sayings and draw moustaches, devil horns or what have you. Great minds think alike, eh?
Thanks for sharing!
-Katie
May 10th, 2008 | #
katie, that is a great idea – i love the idea of the moustaches. thank YOU for sharing! and for stopping by.
rebecca – that’s great news, would love to know how you go with it, or even see a photo when you have created it.
no worries about the typo yoli, your second comment brought a smile to my face.
xx
May 10th, 2008 | #
Pia, thank you for letting us see this, and for answering questions! It’s very inspirational. I’m about to move into a new place (a miniscule rental in NYC, sadly) so I might play around with a couple of your ideas.
(And I do the dry-erase thing too. It’s a great way to switch around the decor. I also have many colours, so I can do drawings and fake stained-glass if I’m feeling particularly artistic.)
May 10th, 2008 | #
Pia It looks great on Graces blog – congrats and great job
May 10th, 2008 | #
Pour l’avoir vécu de l’intérieur, la transformation est encore plus impressionnante!
May 11th, 2008 | #
xx
May 11th, 2008 | #
I see you’ve come out of hiding French Boy! No need to be shy now.
May 11th, 2008 | #
oh my my my. design*sponge… and all these new pics… and all these beautiful ideas!! i want to know whose face that is on the black & white poster/photo?
p.s. i so love florence broadhurst’s designs. i’ve been dreaming about upholstering one of my chairs in her b&w peacock feathers.
May 12th, 2008 | #
incredible makeover! i just moved in with a boy in london, (i am from NYC), and it is a lot of work. a LOT of work! so, thanks for being my inspiration for the week, and giving me confidence that transforming a bachelor pad is possible.
May 12th, 2008 | #
Pia Jane…your house is brilliant + lovely + magical! But somehow I knew it would be.
xo
May 13th, 2008 | #
Hello Pia!
Congratulations for your amazing make over! I wish I could have as many good ideas as you have!
I have a question for the bed: i’m a student moving in September and I’m looking for a cheap but good-looking bed. So I thought your palets idea was ideal!
How did you assemble the palets? With srcrew? Did you use many?
Also, do you think this would work for a double bed?
And last question: How much weight can it carry? I’m about 200 lbs and so I’m afraid I’ll do all the work only for it to break with my weight.
Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your newly decorated flat!
Bye!
May 14th, 2008 | #
Nyla, thanks so much! The photo is by David Knight(remember I featured him in the guest quarters a month or so ago?), I’m not sure who the girl is but I just adore this image.
Lara, you are welcome, good luck with that bachelor pad! I’d love to know how you go along the way.
Joslyn, thank you, I’m really glad you like it.
Gaelle, thank you! I have emailed you the details about weight specifics etc and extra ideas for making it into a double bed, hope this helps if you decide to make one.
xx
May 15th, 2008 | #